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Over the past several years, I don’t think I’ve talked to anyone who isn’t a fan of the IDW Publishing Cobra series. This landmark comic, kicked off a couple of years ago by Mike Costa, Christos Gage and Antonio Fuso, showed readers that G.I. Joe could get dark and gritty in a way that it really never had before. The film noir writing and artistic style blended together perfectly with a nearly flawless granular look at a single undercover G.I. Joe agent trapped behind enemy lines.

If Brandon Jerwa brought Chuckles to the public consciousness with his work on the Devils’ Due Frontline book, Costa, Gage, and Fuso permanently etched him into the G.I. Joe mythology, weaving a fascinating and intriguing tale of how a single agent worked his way within the vicious underbelly of Cobra and nearly brought the operation to its knees.

Amazon.com has a pre-order posted for a fantastic looking hardcover, listing December 17th as the release date. Christos Gage has been pretty public on Twitter, and he suspects these hardcover editions will be under-ordered….so if you even think you might want this book. Pre-order it. Click the banner below to grab this great edition at a great price, and support GeneralsJoes.com while you’re at it. It is currently at a fantastic price as well, saving you nearly $25 off of the cover price!

I also want to personally thank everyone who has purchased something through my Amazon Affiliates link. It has been a very successful endeavor so far, and I greatly appreciate the support by my readers!

Loikamania is a mostly comic-based podcast, which occasionally drifts over into wrestling talk, but comic professionals make regular appearances throughout podcast episodes. Special attention from G.I. Joe fans should be paid to Episode 81, which was actually released a couple of weeks ago.

In Episode 81, Pat Loika brings in Christos Gage and Mike Costa and does a blow-by-blow “writer’s commentary” of G.I. Joe: Cobra Volume 1. The two writers of the series talk about the evolution of the best G.I. Joe book on shelves today and offer some great behind the scenes intel and conversation about the book.

From the first minute I laid eyes on the original G.I. Joe: Cobra title way back I knew we were on to something good. Over the years, G.I. Joe has been many things…in the cartoon, it was campy satire. In the comic, it was a hybrid military realism with supernatural science fiction.

But never has it really been gritty film noir. I mean, how could it be? We’re talking about a property with genetic engineering, technologically impossible weapons and vehicles, and no laws of physics or scientific sense. How can someone possible build a gritty, dark, and “real world” universe out of that?

Well, somebody could, and somebody did. A couple of somebodies named Mike Costa and Christos Gage. They showed the world that the bright, super-powered, laser firing world of G.I. Joe could hide a dark underbelly. Initially written as a short four-issue limited series, G.I. Joe: Cobra redefined Cobra’s image in the IDW world and introduced many readers to the property to rave reviews.

As I think everyone expected, after the first series ended, a second series was sure to come, which was then extended to a continuing series, and it has continued until now. Thirteen issues later we’ve seen backwoods Crocodile experts, a secret cult worshipping snake gods, and a mysterious gypsy who can read minds. But through it all, that dark and dreary noir style brought a sense of realism and despair to the universe (but only in the best way possible, of course).

So now, as we stand on the precipice of another “re-invention” (so to speak) of the IDW universe, we can reflect back on G.I. Joe: Cobra and see how well it did what it did, and finally, how it ended. Which of course, begs the question, where do we go from here?

To avoid spoilers, click the “Read the Rest of this Story” link below for the full review.

Wow…has it been a week already? I know I was holding off a bit on the review, for fear of spoiling the storyline events, but I figure pretty much anyone and everyone knows what’s happened at this point, and the review is fair game.

So then it was just laziness.

Honestly, though, the latest issue of G.I. Joe: Cobra pretty much continues the status quo, and nobody should be surprised. Shocked maybe, but not surprised. Does that make sense? Read the full review after the jump.

Tomorrow is new comic day, and the latest issue of G.I. Joe: Cobra is slated to hit comic shops. Check out the five page preview below.

G.I. Joe: Cobra #11

Mike Costa, Christos N. Gage (w) • Antonio Fuso (a & c)

Chuckles continues his descent into the very nerve center of COBRA… only this time, he has Cobra Commander himself as a guide. Costa, Gage and Fuso take you on the final steps toward oblivion, and re-introduce yet another forgotten member of COBRA, just in time to make the trip just a little more dangerous.

While I’ve fallen behind on some of the comics, I try to keep up to date on the G.I. Joe: Cobra title. Far and away my favorite Joe themed series, I’m constantly amazed by simply how intelligent the writing is. Mike Costa and Christos Gage manage to really delve into the idea of a shadowy terrorist organization like Cobra and really try to rationalize the concept and have it make sense. In the old school days, Hama just sort of accepted some things and expected the readers to do the same. Nothing wrong with that idea in the least, but I really like that this new generation of Cobra is trying to exist within a realistic world and the writing team is trying to breathe life and idealism into Cobra as a whole.

Issue #10 was refreshing. I had no major issues with the last story arc in this series, but it’s like spending the weekend at your best friend’s house when you were a kid. During that weekend, life was different, yet still fun, with some adventures. But then you get back home and go back to your own bed, and suddenly, everything just falls into place. The weekend was fun, sure, but there’s nothing like home, and getting thrust back into the Chuckles and Cobra Commander arc was like coming back home.

Click the “Read the Rest of the Story” link below to see the full review.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been enthusiastically following the G.I. Joe: Cobra ongoing series, even as it deviates from the more standard Cobra coverage and goes into the Coil’s more “cult like” tendencies. I really enjoy this dynamic between the underground almost supernatural cult angle and the polished brick & mortar corporate structure, and somehow make them all mesh together in a seamless way.

I’m not sure they quite pulled it off by the end of this arc, but they did tell a pretty interesting tale. I’ll be honest, though, I’m ready to move along and see what Chuckles has in store for us starting again with issue #10.

Now that NYCC has wrapped up, we’re starting to finally get some good, nicely detailed reports about all of the panels and events that went on in the Big Apple this past weekend. Among those reports was one from Comic Book Resources which focused on IDW and Hasbro’s joint panel and what to expect from their licensed titles over the next several months. I will try and outline the various news items below.

G.I. Joe: Origins #23 is the final issue. Editor Andy Schmidt revealed that G.I. Joe: Origins would end with the 23rd issue. I’m not sure if this is sales related or that they simply had no more stories to tell, but regardless, after just wrapping issue #19, we’ve got about 4 more issues to go.

Christos Gage is leaving G.I. Joe: Cobra after issue #13. I reported this during NYCC, but IDW confirmed it, also reporting that Mike Costa would handle the writing duties solo from then on.

G.I. Joe #27 will wrap up “Season One” of the main Joe title. In April of 2011, G.I. Joe will begin “Season Two”, starting over from issue #0 and kicking off with a Cobra Civil War. Schmidt also says that in April, the only Joe title taking place in IDW continuity that month released would be G.I. Joe #0. Dixon will still be writing the title, but Javier Saltares will be tackling the art chores.

Schmidt also talked a bit about Infestation and how it ties into the G.I. Joe realm, and remarked that Joe fans did not seem very “chill” to the idea…at least not to the level of Transformers fans.

Some interesting news, to be sure. I could have sworn that at one point I read that this latest issue of G.I. Joe was going to be the end of “Season One” but apparently that’s being pushed off a bit. Chuck Dixon has been hit or miss for me throughout his G.I. Joe run, and honestly I’m not sure what I think of Saltares on the title. Loved his stuff with Moon Knight, and his Ghost Rider work was pretty cool as well, but those are both very supernatural, dark, and gritty worlds. I think G.I. Joe can be gritty (just see the Cobra title) but I’m not sure Saltares’ exaggerated style works real well in a pseudo-realistic military setting. I’ll certainly give it a shot, though.

Part of the news in New York ComicCon is the information that G.I. Joe: Cobra co-writer Christos Gage has received an exclusive contract from Marvel Comics, which means he will be moving on from the fantastic IDW title. His co-writer Mike Costa will remain on the book.

Announcing it via his Twitter feed, he expressed regret that he had to leave the book, but confidence that Costa can continue on fine in his stead.

As a humongous fan of G.I. Joe: Cobra, I’m sure Mr. Gage’s influence will be missed, but I wish him the best of luck, and a huge congrats on the Marvel deal! Part of the Marvel deal is also doing the writing for the upcoming Captain America: Super Soldier video game from Sega (to launch in conjunction with the film) so I know we’ll all be sure to check that out!

So, let me get this straight. Mike Costa and Christos Gage have actually introduced and used the characters Croc Master, Golobulus, Serpentor, and Venomous Maximus before Storm Shadow even makes an appearance in the IDW universe?

It’s hilarious…it’s awesome…and it’s a testament to the quality of these writers because they make it work.

To avoid spoilers, click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for the full review.